All T20I matches to get international status

April 26 (CRICKETNMORE) - On the final day of a week of ICC meetings in Kolkata, the ICC Board today gave the green light to all Twenty20 matches between Members being awarded international status along with plans to introduce global rankings in the format.

The move across both men’s and women’s cricket, is part of the wider strategic aim of using the T20 format to globalize the game. New minimum standards will be introduced making it as easy as possible for Members to play international cricket in a sustainable and affordable way.

All Member women’s teams will be awarded T20I status on 1 July 2018, whilst all Member men’s teams will be awarded T20I status on 1 January 2019 following the cut-off point for qualification to the ICC World T20 2020. Rankings for women and men will be introduced in October 2018 and May 2019 respectively.

"We are committed to growing the game and T20 is the vehicle through which we’ll do this," said ICC Chief Executive David Richardson.